Thoughts and Ideas About The Modern Housecat

Category Archives: Fun Stuff

“Foster Failure” sure sounds like someone who fostered a cat and didn’t do a good job of it, doesn’t it! January 2016 is all about celebrating the shelter cats which our customers and friends have adopted – every day we post a photo and a story to Facebook. Early in the month we noticed that a few people called themselves a foster failure. We thought we’d heard everything, but not this so we had to ask! It’s not that they did a bad job, in fact, they did a great job! They just fell in love and kept the cat! What was to have been “temporary” housing and care turned into a forever home.

Thanksgiving just past and we are now in what some call “the season of giving.” Winter is a great time to reflect upon who we are, where we are, what we’ve accomplished, and to celebrate our lives and the lives and stories of others. Let us give you the story of Gary, an 18 wheel trucker and his cat Gus. Their dear friend LaVonna is the feline/human matchmaker crucial to this story. This is what LaVonna has to tell us about highway adventures of Gus and Gary.

From LaVonna…

It all began when my own gray cat disappeared one Summer. She was gone for so long that I thought she was gone for good. Gary, my friend, a truck driver, accompanied me to the shelter several times looking for “Stormy” but we never found her there. On one of our trips we saw a Stormy-look-alike named Gustav. He was a young beautiful Russian Blue cat (and still is as you can see) so I decided to adopt Gus (also called Gus Gus) for my own to replace my beloved Stormy.

After a few weeks, guess who returned? Stormy! But it was not to be a feline match made in Heaven between she and Gus. The two of them collided and would not become friends. So, Gary, being the kind-hearted animal lover he is, decided to take Gus with him on his journeys in his 18-wheeler. Gus rides on the dashboard of the truck watching the scenery whiz by, and keeping a sharp feline eye on the road. I think he has been in most of the 48 states and Canada.

Gary contacted me just this Fall to tell me that last year Gus disappeared at a truck stop. Gary had to continue on his journey as he was “under a load”, but worried the entire time, sick at the thought that Gus could become a coyote’s dinner. But when Gary returned after a couple of weeks, other drivers told him they had seen a gray cat around. Gary searched for Gus and when he found dear Gus he was one very flea and tick infested feline. It didn’t matter! Gus Gus was back in his arms and on the dashboard once again. Gary also told me that Gus does NOT normally like to go to the groomers but I think this particular visit to the groomer was an exception!

Gary could talk your arm off telling you tales about Gus Gus and all the many adventures they have had together. Gary has had this trucking buddy now for over 12 years. Gus Gus has become a bit of a “Folk Hero” across the highways.

Cat Faeries is urging Gary and LaVonna to start a blog with the road trips of Gary and Gus Gus! If they do, you dear readers, will be the first to know! If you wish to encourage them you may write to us and we’ll forward your message. Send it to catfaeries@catfaeries.com and put Gary and Gus in the subject line. Happy Trails to all and wishes for a peaceful holiday season!

All dressed up with everywhere to go is the gorgeous tuxedo cat. Many of them have white spats, slippers, socks, or little shoes on their feet (even after Labor Day!). They have a wide variety of patterns on their bodies and faces, always with a lot of white with black, or gray, or other colors to create a very regal, elegant formal looking feline!

Some people feel their temperaments are particularly pleasing – would you agree?

We asked our good friend Sir Issac Newton, who’s one smart cat and always has a very unique purrrspective, to tell us about the origins of these delightfully marked cats.

Newton’s Purrspective – Cats in Formal Attire

Who are all these cats dressed in tuxedos and where are they going? They go everywhere, of course! “Tuxedo” describes a particular color pattern in a bi-colored cat that gives them the appearance of dressing for a black tie event. Although feline color genetics are sometimes a mystery we do know that the gene for white spotting is dominant. It masks the cat’s true color in the areas where white occurs. So a tuxedo cat has one gene for solid color and one gene for white spotting. If the white spotting gene wasn’t there the cat would be one solid color.

Isaac Newton

Traditionally, Tuxedos are mostly black with white trim on the face, chest and feet. But let’s not be stuffy! Some of us are fashion trend setters and wear grey or orange tuxes. Although it is not obvious in my photo, I have the white bib and feet, but I also have stripes. So I like to think of myself as the “cat in the pinstripe suit”.

Virtually any breed can wear a tuxedo since it is a color pattern, not a breed characteristic. Although there is no scientific evidence linking Tuxies with personality traits, I think they all know they possess a certain elegance.

People seem to agree. Some of the most famous cat characters are tuxedos. For example:

Felix the cat (cartoon from the silent film era)

Sylvester (Looney Tunes cartoon)

The Magical Mr. Mistoffeles from the musical “Cats”

It is said that Shakespeare and Beethoven both had tuxedo cats – always dressed for the theater, no doubt.

Ahoy mates! Have you ever dreamed about saying bye-bye to all that binds and holds us back and saying to hello to a life of total freedom and adventure? And with your cat?

What better way to continue the 4th of July celebration freedom than by meeting Matt and Jessica Johnson who quit their jobs, sold everything and in August of 2011 they set sail around the world. A year later they adopted a cat named Georgie who not only loves living on the boat, but loves a good swim! Inspiring story. Great photos!

Here’s guest writer and “one smart cat” Newton to give us the science behind a cat’s sense of smell.

Newton’s Purrspective – Sense of Smell and a Cat’s 6th Sense

Isaac Newton

Cats and humans share the same 5 senses (hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell), but our abilities are far from equal. Despite my obvious bias, I have to say that you can’t argue with science. In a comparison of the two species, overall cats win paws down. Cats have a far greater range of hearing (45-64,000 Hz compared to humans 64-23,000 Hz). (1) Our eyes have six to eight times as many cells for viewing objects in low light as humans. (2) Our whiskers are so sensitive that we can detect the slightest change in air currents around objects (such as furniture). This is one of the reasons blind cats can get around so well. (3) True, we only have 473 taste buds compared to 9,000 in humans (4), and our reputation for being finicky is well deserved. But, we are obligate carnivores and our natural diet is primarily protein. We have no need to taste sugar! (5) If your apple pie mysteriously disappears from the table I suggest that you blame it on Fido.

Perhaps most amazing of all is our sense of smell. Any human who has suffered a cold knows how important smell is to being able to taste food. Cats have 200 million odor sensitive cells in our nostrils, 40 times more than humans. (6) We also have a special structure called the Jacobson’s Organ (vomeronasal organ). This structure is located behind our upper front teeth and connects to the nasal cavity. Inhaled information is transferred directly to special areas of the brain for concentrated processing and analysis. Has your cat ever sniffed you intensely and then made a face suggesting the smell was bad? Kitty is actively breathing in air to utilize the Jacobson’s Organ. The curled lip is called “Flehmen” (German for lip curl) (7) or sometimes “Flehmen’s smile”. This process allows more in depth analysis of scents and, among other things, is used to detect pheromones. We KNOW if a strange cat has been rubbing up against you! For this reason it is sometimes called an auxiliary or extra sense – a Sixth Sense.

Does this mean cats are psychic? I can’t say for sure, but some researchers suggest that a cat’s sense of smell is extra special. Atmospheric air flow through Jacobson’s Organ may reveal small changes in chemical composition. This could enable a cat to sense impending disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and forest fires. Supporters of this view say Jacobson’s Organ is the structural origin of a Sixth Sense. (8)

In conclusion, understanding the sensitivity and importance of smell to cats can help humans to make our environments more pleasant. Remember, smell can attract or repel. I come running when a new box of Cat Faeries Legendary Catnip toys arrives. But please don’t be offended if I don’t enjoy your Chanel No. 5.

Smell influences:

the types of food we will eat (we need lots of protein)

what areas of the house we prefer (we don’t like most chemical cleaning agents, so I suggest an enzyme based cleaner such as Cat Faeries Anti-Icky Poo in cat box areas)

litter box acceptance/avoidance (we prefer unscented litter) (9)

Following these guidelines can foster a more peaceful coexistence for all.

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